VIdeo: LAPD’s New Cruiser Automatically Tracks License Plates and Suspects’ Footprints
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It’s got a cop motor, it’s got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks … and now it has a infrared night vision camera, automatic license plate reader, and dashboard touchscreen.

This souped-up Chevy Caprice is the LAPD’s future cruiser, enabling cops to track down suspects with the greatest of comfort. The vehicle is operated by a central computer system that runs everything from the light bar to the air conditioning, and the computer itself is stowed in the trunk, so cops don’t have to fumble with a laptop to run your DMV record. The seats are molded to fit a holstered gun and radio, so they don’t uncomfortably bulge on the driver’s lower back, and it has cutouts to accommodate a suspect’s cuffed hands.

The car can exchange data via thumb drives, WiFi and an experimental wireless-mesh network, which the video tour below curiously does not explain in detail. It can even pick up suspects’ footprints in the dark, for crying out loud.

Along with those tech goodies, it sports a behemoth 6.0 liter V8 engine, normally found in heavy-duty Chevrolet trucks, which provides 355 hp and 384 foot-pounds of torque. The Caprice can reach 60 mph in under 6 seconds. It even has an extra battery, just in case.

Even without all that, it is definitely cooler than a Crown Vic. Check it out.

AOL